Preview – Razorbacks Play Vanderbilt on MLK Day

kylie magar January 15, 2023

FAYETTEVILLE – The No. 23 Arkansas women’s basketball team (16-3, 3-1 SEC) is set to face Vanderbilt (9-9, 0-4 SEC) on Monday evening, Martin Luther King Day. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Bud Walton Arena and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network.

GAME INFORMATION

Date: Monday, Jan. 16
Time: 6 p.m.
Opponent: Vanderbilt
Location: Bud Walton Arena (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Promotions: MLK Jr. Day, Junior Razorback Holiday Appreciation, UA Faculty and Staff Holiday Appreciation, Area School Team Day and Residence Hall Appreciation
Tickets: Buy HERE
Watch: SECN
Listen: Razorback Sports Network from Learfield
Arkansas Game Notes
Vanderbilt Game Notes
Live Stats

STORYLINES

Arkansas women’s basketball is No. 23 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll and the last team out of the AP top 25 poll, racking in the 26th most votes with 33. The Razorbacks were ranked for four straight weeks in the AP and WBCA Coaches polls prior to the team’s third loss of the season (#21, #21, #17 and #24 in AP)
Coming into the team’s fifth SEC contest of the season, Arkansas is 3-1, which is the best start for the program in league play since 2005-06 when that team also started the conference slate 3-1
Arkansas has started the season 16-3, which is the best start in the regular season for a Razorback women’s basketball program since 2007-08 when that team also won 16 times in its first 19 games
With Arkansas’ 77-55 win at Missouri, the Razorbacks held the Tigers to a season low in points, which was also the largest defeat inside Mizzou Arena since Dec. 2019
The Razorbacks have won their last three games by an average margin of 23.7 points per game. Two of those games were on the road, as Arkansas has improved its true road record to 5-0
Arkansas is looking to get its fourth win of the last five games against Vanderbilt after dropping last year’s matchup in Nashville (L, 54-51). These two teams will face each other twice in the regular season
Mike Neighbors has led the program to another winning year in the regular season, as the Razorbacks have 16 wins. This marks the fifth regular season winning year for coach at Arkansas
The Razorbacks are 7-1 at home this season
The team has a well-balanced offensive attack with four players averaging double digits in scoring, almost all five starters
Erynn Barnum paces the Razorbacks with 15.6 points per game, while leading the SEC in field goal percentage at .627. She is also tied for a team’s most blocks with 21
Saylor Poffenbarger continues to bring great defense to the team, leading the way in rebounding with 7.9 per game, 131 of her 150 rebounds coming on the defensive side. Poffenbarger also ties for the team’s leader in blocks with 21
Samara Spencer is the second leading scorer with 15.0 points per game and leads the team in assists with 88, 4.6 per game
Makayla Daniels leads the team in steals with 25, while also averaging 13.3 points per game
Chrissy Carr puts up 11.5 points per game and leads the squad with 41 3-pointers
The team leads the SEC in least turnovers per game with 13.6
Arkansas gets to the line 25.0 times per game, which is fourth in the country, second in the SEC behind LSU
In the SEC, Arkansas leads in 3-point attempts per game (26.8) and is No. 2 in 3-pointers per game (8.5)
The Razorbacks have outrebounded opponents in 13 games. The team’s 31.4 defensive rebounds per game is the 12th most in the country

SCOUTING VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt was picked to finish 14th in the SEC Preseason Media and Coaches polls after a 16-19-year last season and making it to the third round of the WNIT
The Commodores are 9-9 this season, starting the year with a five-game winning streak. The team’s most quality wins have come on the road at Louisiana Tech (75-70, OT), Columbia (74-63) and Western Kentucky (82-71)
Ciaja Harbison leads Vandy with 19.3 points per game and 74 total assists
Sacha Washington pulls down 7.6 rebounds per game, which paces the team. She also logs 10.1 points per game
Marnelle Garraud averages 13.1 points per game
Shea Ralph is in her second year at the helm of Vandy, leading the Commodores to their first postseason appearance since 2014 last season with the team’s third round appearance in the WNIT

HISTORY AGAINST THE COMMODORES

Vanderbilt and Arkansas have played one another 37 times with the Commodores holding a 26-11 advantage
The two teams have played one another every year (apart from 2021 when Vandy cancelled its season) since 1992, Arkansas’ first year in the SEC
In the last 10 meetings, the series is tied at 5-5, while Arkansas has the 3-1 advantage in the last four games
Monday’s game will be the first one of this series played in Fayetteville since 2019
Arkansas opened road SEC play at Vanderbilt last season, getting edged out, 54-51. Sasha Goforth led the Razorbacks with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Daniels logged seven points and nine rebounds

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas earned its third 20+-point victory in a row to defeat Missouri in Columbia, 77-55, which marked eight straight victories over the Tigers
The Razorbacks saw two players with 20 points, led by Poffenbarger, who put up a career-high 24 points and six rebounds at her mom’s alma mater
Barnum logged her second double-double of the season after registering 21 points and 11 rebounds
Carr made timely shots to finish with 16 points, four of those shots coming off 3-pointers, and led the team in +/- at +26
Spencer pulled down a career-high nine rebounds, all defensive, while tallying six assists
Arkansas had the edge in points in the paint, 40-22, while outrebounding the Tigers, 45-37

UPCOMING

Arkansas will face its toughest tests of the season, starting with a road matchup at No. 5/5 LSU on Thursday, Jan. 19. The game will tipoff at 8 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on SEC Network.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about Arkansas Women’s Basketball, follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @RazorbackWBB and on Facebook at Facebook.com/RazorbackWBB. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel, “Kickin’ It In The Neighborhood” for an inside look at the Razorback women’s basketball program and check out The Neighborhood podcasts at CoachNeighbors.com.